


suddenly they're somewhere else

by okliv



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben and Rey have an apartment together, Ben is not a monster!, Force Bond (Star Wars), Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, One Shot, Or Several, Redeemed Ben Solo, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Trailer, Young Ben Solo, Young Rey, a lot going on here, also they go to prom together, but is it even canon? because it's just a scene from the TROS trailer but like make it insane, canon but also not, classic autumn scene, fulfilling a lot of headcanons, ocean battle scene, on some Magic Tree House shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 00:00:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21364822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okliv/pseuds/okliv
Summary: His outreached hand quivers, raindrops pooling in his palm. The same old plea is written all over his face, and Rey feels her will melt within her. Her arm rises from her side, and before she knows it, her fingers brush his, and in an instant -the world shakes around them,and suddenly they’re somewhere else.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 53





	suddenly they're somewhere else

Wet streaks cover Ben’s face, Rey can tell from the light of their clashing sabers. Her own face is soaked too, whether it’s from the skyscraper-like waves crashing down all around them or as a result of the lump in her throat that she can’t seem to push down, she doesn’t know. She knows that Ben feels the same, can feel it in that eternal current that wraps around her mind and courses through her veins. Heartache and rage and just a bit of guilt, the usual lethal concoction. 

Rey swings her electric blue saber upwards to meet Ben’s glowing red weapon in a perfect X, and they press against each other, delaying the inevitable. 

“Ben, please,” Rey begs through gritted teeth. Her arms hold strong even after what feels like hours of fighting, but her heart is tired. It sits heavy in her chest as she tries to get through to the broken boy in front of her. One more time. 

Ben’s eyes flit up to meet hers. The churning seas in those dark eyes make the waves around them seem like a child’s splashing. Yellow rain boots in muddy puddles. 

Ben must’ve been an adorable child, Rey thinks to herself. Her eyes fill to the brim at the thought. Through foggy vision, she knows he hears her by the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallows an equally thick lump in his throat. 

“Rey…” he mumbles with lazy lips, shaking his head. In his eyes is a plea; for what, she can’t make out. His dark hair floats around him in an ethereal cloud, making this scene of hell seem almost like heaven. 

She can’t get the thought of Ben as a boy out of her head. It’s ridiculous really, with the two of them on the precipice of death, by the slip of a wet foot on slick metal, at the hilt of the other’s saber, in the grip of Palpatine’s final blow. None of it matters to Rey. 

“I wish we had more time,” she chokes out, voice breaking as they both soften their grips on their sabers. Ben’s browline softens as well, and it almost looks like he might just throw down his saber and sweep her into his arms. 

He doesn’t. But he does put down his saber, and she mirrors him. The two stand in perfect stillness for a few seconds, ocean and sky swirling around them in a maelstrom, making them look like two clay figures in a snowglobe. 

Finally, Ben reaches out a hand, like before, in the warm glow of a hut on Ahch-To, or amidst the smoking debris of an empty throne room. Surrounded by calm, surrounded by chaos. That was always the way when it came to Ben and Rey. 

His outreached hand quivers, raindrops pooling in his palm. The same old plea is written all over his face, and Rey feels her will melt within her. Her arm rises from her side, and before she knows it, her fingers brush his, and in an instant -

the world shakes around them,

and suddenly they’re somewhere else. 

Red leaves tumble down on either side of the freshly paved road, two yellow lines running straight down the middle. Rey leans her head against the car door, taking a deep breath of chilled autumn air from the open window. It smells like leaves and pine needles and a bonfire in the distance. It’s heavenly. 

She chances a glance at the driver’s seat, and there he is. Wearing a green flannel rolled up to the elbows, dark hair fluttering in the cool breeze, eyes soft with a hint of a smile on his lips. 

Ben.

It’s not quite them, but it’s a version of them. A few years older, another place, another time. She still feels the bond, strong and steady as ever, like the soft press of a foot against a gas pedal. 

He’s a good driver, Rey notes as he takes the gentle curves in the road with ease. Trees line either side of the street in mid-October hues, surrounding them with red and orange and yellow and green, reminding Rey’s eyes what color feels like. Ben’s big hands grip the wheel on either side, and Rey’s stomach flips as she catches herself staring at them. 

She feels it in her bones that they’re comfortable with each other, this Rey and Ben. Like they do this a lot. Like they didn’t lose any time with each other, not in this life. 

The sound of a guitar makes its way over the radio, and Rey reaches out to turn it up, not knowing why. Ben looks over at her and smiles wide, running a hand through his hair. 

“Our song,” he says, pressing his hand down onto Rey’s knee. He rubs circles with his thumb, and her heart skips to the beat of the song. 

“Yeah,” she says breathlessly, smiling back at him. It feels so good to smile. 

He turns back to face the road, still smiling to himself, and starts to sing. Rey does too, words tumbling out of her mouth with no idea how they got there in the first place. The two of them are belting from the deepest parts of their lungs by the time the song is over, beaming in the warm autumn sunlight. 

Ben chuckles as the final chord rings through the air between them. “Remember when we heard that song for the first time?”

“Yeah,” Rey replies breathlessly. A hint of a memory rings in the back of her head, but nothing solid comes to her. And still - “It reminded me of us.” 

Ben grins, looking over at Rey. “Me too.” He pauses. “Took us long enough, but we got here.” 

Rey can’t get enough of those eyes. They’re his, but different - as if they’re not holding back everything her Ben Solo leaves hidden behind guarded walls. There’s a freedom to this Ben, a carelessness. She smiles back at him, then reaches out to touch his face. Just because she can. His cheek is so soft, but bristles with the beginnings of late afternoon stubble. Something moves in the corner of her vision, and Rey presses the quickest, lightest kiss to Ben’s cheek before turning to face the road. 

“Watch out, car coming,” she says, pleased with herself having the briefest taste of his skin lingering on her lips. Ben is nearly in the middle of the road, eyes still on Rey. The other car honks and slowly passes them with a dirty look. 

“I love you, you know.” He mumbles it, turning back to face the road, the slightest flush rising in his cheekbones. 

Rey's stomach flips upside down. She does know. She always has. 

But to hear him say it… her heart shatters into pieces and grows ten sizes all at once. 

“I love you, too.” A lump rises in Rey's throat as she says it back, hardly more than a whisper. It's something she's only ever uttered in her wildest dreams, something she's had to bite back in her weakest moments with a different Ben standing in front of her, something she's gasped late at night with only her own hand and fantasy to pull it out of her. It’s different this time. 

With one hand stretched out on the steering wheel and a golden waterfall of leaves tumbling down on either side of them, Ben leans over and delicately cups Rey's chin with the other hand. 

“I’ll never get enough of you saying that,” he mumbles. “God only knows how I got so lucky.”

It’s almost as if he knows, too, just how precious this moment is. How fleeting. How somewhere else, they’re in battle, screaming and thrashing with rage in their hearts and curses tumbling across their lips. 

Rey clings to every second, taking another deep breath of autumn air. 

Suddenly, Ben leans across the center console and kisses her. 

His lips are so soft, melting over hers like they were made to fit together. It’s so fast; so comfortable, so unusual, and yet Rey can feel deep inside how right it is. How they’ve done this a million times before. 

And soon as he is there - pressing his lips into hers, leaving her head spinning on its shoulders, taking her breath away - 

he is gone. 

The world shakes around them, 

and suddenly they’re somewhere else. 

Strings of tiny lights are haphazardly strung across a gymnasium ceiling. An awful pop songs blares over a speaker system, and mindless chatter fills in the rest of the noise. 

Rey looks around, brow wrinkling in confusion. 

They’re at prom. 

She’s suddenly overly aware that her arms are draped over Ben’s shoulders, and his hands linger loosely on her waist. 

They’re slow dancing. 

It takes everything in her not to laugh, glancing around at the room of seventeen year-olds all swaying side to side, all looking like they’re trying to have the time of their lives. 

Rey looks at Ben, who is avoiding her eyes, nervously looking around the room, anywhere but at her. 

He’s nervous, this Ben. They’re younger, newer, not comfortable, not like the last versions of them. He’s nervous, but not in the way she knows him to be. Not in the life-or-death way her Ben is, begging him to join her like his life depends on it. Like she’s the only thing in the world that could save him. 

This Ben is trying to play it cool. And failing, Rey thinks to herself, a smile twitching at the corner of her lips. 

“Hey,” she says, grabbing his attention. “I’m having a good time.” She doesn’t know what makes her say it, doesn’t know if this Rey actually is having a good time, but she feels like she needs to say it. Like Ben needs to hear it. 

“Oh,” he sputters out, shaking his mop of hair out of his eyes. God, he looks so young. Not quite grown into the features that will suit him so well in adulthood. With those ears, she can’t help but smile at him. 

“Good,” he says, a hesitant smile crossing his face. “Me too.” He almost sounds like he believes it.

Rey knows he doesn’t want to be here, knows this Rey probably dragged him, probably asked him and left no option to say no. She doesn’t know where exactly they are, the two of them, what lines they’ve crossed together and what they stand on the precipice of, about to take the leap but not quite yet. 

All she knows is she’s ready. She wants to jump. And she wants him to jump with her. 

“Thanks for coming tonight,” she says, squeezing him a bit with her arms laced around his shoulders. The slow song switches to something peppier, and the two stop swaying to the beat, standing still amidst the chaos.

“You look beautiful.” Ben shakes the hair out of his face again and looks at the floor as he says it, shuffling the feet that are too big for his disproportionate body. 

She doesn’t really. The blue tulle and glitter covering her dress doesn’t suit her at all, but she can tell he means it. Rey pulls her arms down from his shoulders and laces her fingers into his. A wave of boldness overcomes her, with disco lights spinning circles all over the room, sweaty teenagers surrounding them, teacher chaperones checking their watches, parents waiting in cars outside, an awfully red punch bowl and the shittiest appetizers lined up on a table against the bleachers. 

It doesn’t matter where they are, she thinks to herself. It will always be them. Ben and Rey against the world. 

She pulls him close, and they stand just a few inches apart. She hears his breath grow shakier. His dark eyes meet hers, and she smiles. A crooked grin crosses his face, too, making him look as young as he is. 

She wishes they had grown up together. That they hadn’t missed a second together. 

They won’t. Not in this life. 

She closes the gap between them and kisses him. His lips are soft, hesitant at first. But quickly they fit perfectly together like she knows they will. Ben’s hands on her waist feel more confident now, holding her close like he never wants to let go. 

Rey prays he never has to. 

She starts to pull away, opening her eyes to find his closed in an expression of peace that so rarely graces his tortured face. 

Her hand reaches up to touch his face, like a reflex, uncontrollable. His eyes flit open and meet hers for an instant, before - 

the world shakes around them.

and suddenly they’re somewhere else. 

Rey’s fists are clenched so tightly that they’re shaking. Her eyes are squeezed closed, and she opens them quickly, taking inventory of her shaking body, standing on a hardwood floor in a living room. 

Her living room, she realizes. 

_ Their _ living room. 

“You’re fucking absurd,” Ben growls from the opposite side of the room. “The world doesn’t fucking revolve around you, Rey, I don’t know when you’re going to realize that.”

Panic rises in Rey’s chest, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. They’re fighting. She can feel a heat in her cheeks that only comes from crying and screaming. She senses that she’s been doing a mix of both. 

“Don’t you pull that one on me, Ben.” The words tumble across her lips without a thought. “Not when you know damn well that all I do is try to help you, day after fucking day.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t WANT your help? Have you ever thought about what  _ I _ want? Huh?” He spews his words out in a rage, practically spitting at her from the opposite side of the room. He storms around a corner, leaving no indication that she should follow him. 

For a second, Rey just looks around the room. It’s an apartment, and brick walls and skyline lights outside the windows tell her they’re in a city. The blankets on the couch are in a twist, and books cover the coffee table, bookmarks and cracked spines telling her they’ve been read. A dog bed sits in the corner. Wet rain boots are making a puddle by the door. 

They’ve built a life together, this Ben and Rey. 

She follows Ben around the corner and glances into a room with the door left open. A queen bed with mussed sheets and a television are inside. 

A lump rises in Rey’s throat. God, to share a bed with Ben. With the man she’s never been able to grab, to make him understand. He’s always slipping right through her fingers. 

This Rey doesn’t know how lucky she is. 

And neither does this Ben. 

He’s in the kitchen, angrily scrubbing a pile of dishes in the sink. He’s fully grown, just as broad as she knows him to be. A few strands of gray litter his dark hair. 

Rey leans up against counter opposite him, facing his back with a firm granite island planted in between them. 

“What do you want, Ben?”

His motions slowly come to a stop. He stands still, massive hands clutching either side of the sink. He takes a deep, shaky breath and drops his head. 

“I want to be free of this pain.”

Rey’s heart shatters. The pieces fall to the ground, covering the kitchen floor in broken glass. She’s heard him say this before. In another life, another time, another place. She was further from him then. And yet, she can’t quite get herself to cross the distance between them now. Not yet. 

“You’re not alone,” she whispers, feeling the tears leak down her face. His shoulders start to shake. He doesn’t turn to face her. Rey holds her ground, standing in place even as it kills her. 

He starts to say something, but it comes out a sob. Rey gulps, trying not to let her voice shake as she continues. 

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted you to know,” she says. “I’m here, Ben. I always have been.” Her arms cross over her chest, holding herself together as she feels herself fall apart. She loves this Ben, she loved the teenage Ben, she loved Ben in autumn -

and she loves her own Ben, wherever across the universe he might be. 

This Ben reminds her the most of him. 

Just barely out of reach.

“I know,” he says quietly. The rage and the pain have fallen out of his voice. Now he just sounds defeated. Weak, almost. But Rey knows he’s not weak. Not at all. 

He turns around, looking at her with bloodshot eyes shaded by heavy, dark bags. He leans back against the counter, crossing his arms across his chest. “Why?”

“Why what?” she asks, brow creasing. She wipes a tear from her cheek and swallows. 

“Why do you stay with me?” he asks, gulping, trying to steady his breathing. “I-” he stutters, reminding her of a younger version of him. “I’m a monster.”

Rey shakes her head, finally prompted to close the distance between them. She steps over the shards of her broken heart, approaching him slowly. 

“You’re not,” she says breathlessly. “You never have been.”

Ben looks down, and a sob wracks his body. Rey gets closer, placing her small hands on his arms, steadying him, feeling the heat radiating off his body. 

“Look at me, Ben.” Their eyes meet, through tears and years and planets. “I know you. I do,” she pleads with him. “You are good, no matter what you think. This isn’t you,” say says, looking him up and down. A smile teases the corner of her lips. 

“You are…” she trails off. She could finish that sentence any number of ways. A boy wearing yellow rainboots, splashing in puddles as he walks down the sidewalk. A gangly teenager, shifting from foot to foot on a gymnasium dance floor, looking at her with a crooked, cautious smile. A carefree man with one hand on the steering wheel, free as a bird. An enemy in a mask. A friend in a dark hut, with an outstretched hand over a warm fire. 

“... everything.” She says it breathlessly. His dark eyes pool with tears. 

A moment of silence hangs between them. Ben breaks it first, lifting his arms to pull her in close. Rey falls into his touch, breathing in his musk as she lets herself melt into his warmth. They stay there, connected, clinging onto each other in the middle of the kitchen. 

“I’m sorry,” Ben whispers into her hair, nestling his head down to rest on hers. “For everything.”

“It’s okay,” Rey says, holding him tighter. She never wants to forget how it feels, having him in her arms, all hers, in the home they’ve made together. 

She feels Ben’s heart rate calming against her chest and pulls back. He leans down, resting his forehead against hers. 

“I love you,” Ben murmurs. 

Rey’s heart skips a beat and her breath hitches. Her heart breaks all over again as she remembers who she really is, where they really are. She clings to this moment. 

“I love you,” she says with determination, hands on either side of his face and looking fiercely into those deep, dark eyes. “Please don’t forget it, Ben. I love you, forever. I love you.”

She can hardly get herself to stop saying it, knowing she might not get the chance again. 

“You’re the best thing I’ve got,” Ben says, looking back at her with the same fierceness in his eyes. “I don’t deserve you. You’re my whole world, Rey.”

He leans in to kiss her, and Rey braces herself, knowing what will happen next. She leans in, nonetheless. His lips move over hers like they’re begging for something, begging never to be let go. She doesn’t want to let him go. She doesn’t. 

But with her head already spinning and Ben already becoming less real beneath her arms, she feels it happen. 

The world shakes around them. 

And suddenly they’re back. 

Back on the slick ledge of a hunk of metal, weathered down by ocean waves through the ages. Back to facing each other in silence, rain coming down in sheets all around them. Back to weapons in one hand, each other’s hands touching softly in the other. 

It all happened in an instant, Rey realizes. Lifetimes flashing across her vision in a single second. She knows it was the same for Ben, but she wonders what he saw. Wonders what he said, what they did. 

She starts to cry, tears streaming down her face as she faces him helplessly. Desperation is written all over Ben’s face, a man torn straight down to the core. 

Their hands drop to their sides. 

“It’s always you,” Ben says softly, just barely loud enough to be heard above the storm. “Just you.”

Rey nods. It’s always Ben. Always. 

He turns off his saber and she follows suit, sticking hers back into her belt. 

They stare at each other for a few moments more, until Ben looks away. 

“What if we left it all behind,” Ben says, staring off at the tumultuous ocean waves surrounding them. “Started over, somewhere else.”

Rey smiles, tears coming down harder now. She shakes her head. “We couldn’t,” she says, thinking about the Resistance. About Finn and Poe and Leia and the thousands looking to their every move. No way could she leave them behind, not even with this old temptation coming back again. 

“But…” Rey starts, swallowing. “We could move forward together.” She looks at him desperately. If he saw what she did, how could he possibly bear another second of fighting, another second apart?

“It’s all wrong,” Ben scowls. “How did we even get into this damn mess?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rey says, shaking her head. “What we do now is all that matters. Ben, please. Join me.”

It’s her hand that’s outstretched now. For the first time, it’s Rey who’s asking. Begging. She gets it now, how she broke his heart when she said no every time. The thought of Ben saying no has her in pieces already. Her hand trembles. 

His jaw tenses. She can practically see his mind racing, can feel it pulsing in their shared current. 

And suddenly, the current goes silent. The waves around them stop in place. The entire world halts.

Because Ben takes Rey’s hand. 

And that’s all that matters. 

**Author's Note:**

> you GUYS!! I've been working on this off and on since the second trailer came out because uhhh holy shit I canNOT get over whatever this ocean death star fight scene is. so I added some TLJ hand touch flavor to it and then inserted every headcanon I could wrangle up and there ya have it. 
> 
> and yes, these are inspired by taylor swift songs because why not. 1) all too well 2) enchanted 3) daylight
> 
> comments always make my day :)


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